What Really Matters, According to Me

I love Bob Segar... But wait, I haven't mentioned my sister Melinda. She was like a mother to me when I was a child. She had a rough life. Having been abused as a child, she was spiritually scarred and confused, but she loved me and I loved her. Melinda took me to see Bob Segar in concert one summer he came to San Antonio. I remember driving the hour down I 10 in her old black Chevy pick up, with no air conditioning. I didn't care. Very few cars I rode in in those days had AC. It was the time of my life. I knew Melinda loved me. I felt it. No matter how rough she was or unacceptable to proper society, she was acceptable to me. She had done everything bad a person might think of. She was the person who introduced me to pot and wine coolers. She didn't know she was hurting me. She was trying to draw me closer to her. I don't fault her for any of it. Standing with her and singing and crying listening to Bob Segar live was an amazing, unforgettable experience. "Janie w...

Right around this time of year, every year, I get in a little funk. I know that isn't a real word. It's hard to describe, though. I'm not depressed. I'm not grumpy. I've been called preoccupied. Maybe that's it; Preoccupied. On the 12th of August, 1990 (a lifetime ago for some people), a small girl came into my home, having left the bosom of the Father to be my baby daughter, Heather. She was small, a little premature, but healthy and beautiful. She came on a Sunday. On the 9th of September, 1990 (a lifetime ago for some, but yesterday for me...), the Lord sent an angel to call Heather away from me and back to her heavenly home. It was around 2:00 a.m. The rest of us were sleeping. She left on a Sunday. The four weeks that sweet little girl was mine to hold were brief. Yet, her brief presence in my life has changed me for the rest of my life. One would think there could be no regrets in a four week long relationship, except for regrets for what might have been, ...

Not waves of water and brine, and winds full of sea salt- but passion and contempt within the hearts of men; this is the tempest raging in these last days of earth. This is my blog, so I will say what I think. If you are worried I will offend you, please stop reading. What's going on? Why is rudeness acceptable when it comes to politics? "Where were you when Reagan did the same thing?" "Is it that you just hate the Democrats?" "If it were Bush you wouldn't have a problem." I've had to tell people, "I was a kid when that happened... that's why I didn't have an opinion." "I didn't have kids in public school when that happened." "I didn't vote for him the second time." "I didn't think that was a good idea." etc. etc. People can get so angry and belligerent when it comes to politics. Sometimes people make far reaching assumptions that, in other areas of life would be obviously inappropriat...

The test of a relationship and an individual, as well, is what spills out during crisis. I say ‘spills out’ because of an object lesson that comes to mind from years ago. Imagine two dark colored glass jars sitting undisturbed on a table top. Both are filled to equal amounts with an unknown liquid. The constitution of the liquid is indiscernible due to the dark hue of the glass. Only when the table is disturbed and the jars are overturned may one see what spills from the jars. One jar is filled with honey. The other, filled with vinegar. The lesson here is that: only when we are upset, does our true character reveal itself. So it is in any relationship. The quality and depth of the relationship and the true character of those in relation to each other is revealed when the figurative table is upset. Every person is accountable for the direction in which he persuades each relationship in which he is. If one knows his sister is given to a particular weakness, but provokes her to that poin...

OK. Everybody who knows me knows how I feel about them. Right. I mean, if you are a friend of mine, you know I like you and wouldn't ever TRY to hurt your feelings or make you mad at me. Right? OK. Having said that, I just want to talk a little about hitting kids. I have been asked:How can you teach a child to not hit, if you hit him? How can you teach a child to be non violent if you spank? If you're still reading, let me answer: It is essential to never strike a child when you are angry. It is essential to graduate intensity and severity of the spanking experience in correlation with the emotional and intellectual development of the child, in consideration with the personality of the child and the relationship of you, as the disciplinarian, to the child. In more simple terms: there is no cut and dried spanking technique such as you will find for 'time out'. With 'time out', a child is supposed to be placed in 'time out' or in the 'naughty spot'...

Megan is very independent. She logged herself in to her blog (which was actually my blog) and posted her observations on human relations. I found it today and moved it to her blog at meganwindham.blogspot.com, but anyone who read it on my blog can see she has come to understand a little of the notion that 'what goes around comes around.' This is a twist on 'treat others the way you want to be treated.' She has observed that people tend to reciprocate, not all the time, but many times, the treatment they receive. If Megan is nice to her little sister, her little sister is more likely to respond in like manner. If she is rude... you know how that goes. I'm glad she accidentally posted to my blog. If she hadn't, I might not have remembered to check up on her blog from time to time. She hasn't asked lately how to get onto her blog... so I thought she wasn't worried about writing in it, however, in truth, she has been updating it on the sly, without my help. ...